I have a question for all of you that have had your forks tuned for you.

As I have never run a bike that has had the suspension set up for my weight and riding style I am not sure what to expect. I will be the first to admit that I am virtually clueless when it comes to suspension, but I am learning.

I am sure that modding the front end makes a huge difference in the way the bike handles

My question is: After you got your front forks set up for you did you have to change out the suspension in the rear, or can you live with the stock rear shock.

I myself will have some suspension work done, after transfer season, and we get settled. I will PM you Greg when the time comes.

I don’t want to have to spend a huge amount of cash on a bike that I know I will be getting rid of in a few years. (The tank range and passenger accommodations of the shawk are limiting, for touring)

This is because
1) I am cheap
2) I am not independently wealthy
3) I still have bills to pay down
4) I know I wont get the $ back out of the bike when it is time to sell it
5) Its hard to justify buying a rear shock for $600-$1200 after having the front done



Does it make sense to swap out the front and leave the stock rear shock? Or do you have to do both at the same time? Does having the front set up lead to problems with a stock shock on the rear? Has anyone tried riding the bike this way, what were your impressions?

Also can anyone suggest some good books / DVD’s to learn about suspension tuning, and set up?

 

I have no personal experience, but my understanding is that the front makes the biggest difference.. but once that is done you will start to notice that the rear needs help too.

And suspenders are for snappy dressers.. lol

 

After having forks done you will want a shock. The front will feel great but you'll feel the limitations of the shock. Motorcycle suspension is all about balance. So you might ask that if it's about balance can I make the forks work with the shock? Yes, but it's pointless to match them to a shock that's crappy in the first place.

 

Trust me... I have swapped on a CBR1000RR front... Now the rear feels terrible...

Either it feels like a 2*4 and bounces all over the place or I set it soft and then it feels like the Titanic wallowing all over the road...

A rear shock is next on my wish list... I'm watching fleabay like a hawk...

 

i agree that it's great to have both BUT it's ok to get one done then save up for the other. i bought a penske this summer & it truely is worth the $750 i paid for it ... and just had greg revalve my forks. although with one done you may resort to cutting all extra spending to get the other

at a minimum get the proper fork springs. sonic springs are less than $100 shipped. that will get the 'average' rider down the road. if your aggressive then you'll need better valving.

tim

 

Agreed... The front is essential... The rear is nice, but can wait... And yes... I did cut spending to get me a nice rear one faster...

 

Good to hear, thanks for the info all.

What does she run like with just the front set up? Does this affect turn in at all?

 

Suspension setup doesn't affect turn in... geometry does... Altough having a decent setup suspension helps your confidence when positioning the bike a lot...

There are two easy ways to affect geometry... Moving the forklegs up in the triples and raising the rear of the bike... Both improves turn in at the cost of stability... Fiddling with the forklegs also reduces ground clearance... I'd recommend starting with the rear shim...

 

To keep the same geometry as stock, you compensate for stiffer springs by raising the forks in the triples. 10mm works for most. 15mm causes clearance problems. You could also do a little on the forks and a little on the shock.

 

Thats exactly what I was talking about, regarding turn in. With the softer spring the forks will sit lower in the triples. Thanks again Hawkrider.

 

Trinc, where did you pick up your Penske for $750?

 

hardracing.com or le-suspension.com


looks like hardracing raised there price so check out
http://www.le-suspension.com/catalog...products_id=31


tim